1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the field of multimedia. Specifically, this invention relates to methods and systems for delivering multimedia information.
2. General Background and Related Art
Digital audio is increasingly being delivered to listeners in compressed form. Sound compression formats, such as MPEG Layer 3 (MP3), Motion Picture Experts Group, ISO/IEC 11172-3 and ISO/IEC 13818-3, substantially compress audio data, yet maintain high sound quality. Tags have been developed to convey information that may relate to audio files. For instance, an ID3 tag may reside at the end of an MP3 file.
Within a tag conforming to the ID3v2.3.0 informal standard (see http://id3.org), a host of textual information may be included, such as artist, album, song, title, lyrics, and comments. The ID3 tag in both ID3v2.3.0 and later revisions of the format also provides for a xe2x80x9cgeneral encapsulated object,xe2x80x9d wherein any type of file may be encapsulated.
When they download compressed music or other such audio for playback on computers, personal digital music players, CD players, or the like, users often like to search for selections among downloaded music selections. Textual information associated with each selection, and derived from a tag, may be displayed on an LCD panel. As such, users must read the information in order to decide which selection they wish to hear. This process is not user-friendly, and it prevents visually-impaired individuals from enjoying the search features of the above devices.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and system that conveys information about audio programs in audio form.